Strategic human resource management model

There are several components that make up SHRM. Each of these blocks has underlying values and assumptions that, in principle, have already been described in chapter 1. However, there are also contentious debates on whether there is any well-grounded model on strategic human resource management based on a specific discipline (Storey 1989; Hendry 1995; Nankervis et al. 2000; Ismail & Long 2009; Calisken 2010; Inyang 2010). The major differences are areas of emphasis between business strategies as determinants of human resource strategies and hence aiming at ‘strategic fit’ on one side or a universal approach to making human resource functions responsive to strategic business requirements. The ‘universal approach’ or people as resource for gaining a competitive advantage are based on the ‘resource based theory’. This lack of clarity has led to a model that tries to capture important attributes of strategic human resource management model as depicted in Figure 2.1. The figure displays ten main tenets of strategic human resource management which characterise the philosophical nature of strategic people management and what managers and employees ought to put in place and do in order to excel in a competitive business environment. The description for each tenet is provided below.

Figure 1 Strategic human resource management model

Making strategic value choices

Although the model suggests ten strategic variables of human resource management that have to be embodied in systems, practices and competencies in order to guide employees as individuals and teams to higher level performance, managers have to focus on the most valuable aspects, depending on the organisational strategy. For example, an organisation that emphasises creativity and innovation will choose and reward employee behaviour that demonstrates risk taking initiatives. That is to say, each of the nine constituents of the model will have different aspects to deal with but managers will have to make decisions and choose systems, processes, programmes or activities with the most strategic value for the individuals, teams and the organisation.

Strategic integration

Since HRM is related to other organisational strategies, integration is not only desirable but also necessary to ensure that human resource management decisions are not made for their own sake. HRM policies and procedures need to be linked with an organisation‘s strategy, its objectives and its activities so that performance can be judged in terms of the degree of strategic fit between business strategies and human resource strategies.

Employees as most valuable

No organisation can excel without having the right human resources. Experience suggests that human resources are a key factor in attaining a competitive advantage. It needs to be developed through nurturing, coaching, training, respect and love, care, and encouragement, which are key components of motivation packages. The degree to which the emphasis on staff development of both current and future performance requirements is taken into account depends on the position of the organisation in its life cycle. The premise that human resources are the most valuable of all resources also presupposes that human resource functions cannot be left to personnel departments alone. There is need to place this function to all functional departments with the human resource manager remaining a team leader. Optimal utilisation of this asset requires that there should be deployment of right numbers and skills at the right place at the right time. The old tradition where departmental managers struggled to build their own empires by recruiting and retaining staff no longer holds sway in strategic human resource management.

Emphasis on management of support staff

Along the same logic of valuing human resources, managers are challenged to support staff through various techniques so that the latter can have a sense of belonging, enjoyment from the job, gain confidence in the management, identify with the organisation and feel that they own it. Informal interactions, open door policy, coaching and mentoring, attractive employee welfare schemes are some of the techniques used to support staff and make them feel proud of their work and the organisation.

Strengthening management and employees commitment

Commitment at all levels of the organisational structure depends on the perceptions and attitudes of both the management and employees towards each other. Negative perceptions and attitudes are the source of low morale and lack of interest in both the job and the organisation. For example, if employees feel that management ignores them when the former attempts to exercise their rights, the level of commitment would be low. Similarly, if the management feel that the workers are lazy and too demanding, they are likely to lose commitment in supporting such staff. However, since in principle, strategic human resource management should be the responsibility of top management, any sign of low employee commitment is the result of poor handling of human resource management issues at the top management level.

Employee commitment can be secured through various techniques. Some are ritualised including organisational songs, slogans, attire or informal gatherings such as cocktail parties etc. Employee involvement in the affairs of the organisation through the contribution of ideas, motivation through encouragement, recognition of individual as well as group efforts in accomplishing tasks by rewarding appropriately make a difference in inducing commitment from staff.

Effective communication

Effective communication occurs when a message is received and understood in the same way as the sender intended it. It involves the careful organisation of ideas, assessment of the right mode of transmission and the nature of the receiver. Studies have shown that most problems experienced in people management are due to poor communication. Strategic human resource management appreciates the role of communication as a critical tool in day-to-day human resource management. Open channels of communication that build trust and mutual understanding, helping employees to internalise the organisation’s vision, mission statement, core values, policies, objectives and activities are essential.

Frequent meetings with the top management, departmental and team meetings present the best opportunities for effective communication. Other channels include close interaction between staff and supervisors, billboards, brochures and instruction manuals. Informal communication is very useful in disseminating information if the danger of rumours and gossip is to be contained.

Decentralisation for empowerment

 Strategic human resource management calls for a decentralisation of decision making and problem solving at the lowest levels possible in the organisational hierarchy. That is, allow decisions to be made at the very source of activity. Operational staff and teams are the public face of the organisation. Therefore they need power, authority, and motivation to take the right decisions at that level. Organisations with a human resource management culture cannot afford to embarrass themselves in front of a valued customer by failing to conclude business deals simply because a particular manager has to make a minor, unnecessary routine decision.

Flexibility and adaptation

The nature of today’s business’ success lies in the ability to promptly respond to the unpredictable and fast changing environment. Flexible but robust rules and regulations, flatter organisation structures, preference for a multi-skilled workforce, and use of convertible production technologies are some of the strategies used to improve an organisation’s ability to cope with environmental pressure.

Creativity and innovation

SHRM calls for the management and employees to work together and come up with new ideas that can be put into practice so that new business opportunities can be created. With regards to employees’ management, creativity and innovation are required in areas such as pay schemes that are internally fair and externally competitive, job enrichment, enlargement, leadership, team building, retraining, and better employment arrangements.

Obsession with quality

In the language of total quality management, the customer is always right and quality is seen in the eyes of customers. In order to produce the best quality goods and provide the best quality services as perceived by the customer when compared to other producers or suppliers, the organisation need staff orientated towards, and a motivation for excellence in quality products and services. Careful recruitment and selection of staff, appropriate training and development programmes, use of quality circles, and performance management systems that reward employees according to contribution are some of the strategies used to build and sustain a culture of quality.

The oval shaped pictorial view of the model and the interaction between variables emphasise the fluidity, complexity and dynamic nature of the SHRM model. For example, effective communication will have a symbiotic multiplier effect on decentralisation, employee commitment, creativity, integration etc. To use the language of cybernetics, the ‘whole’ is greater than the ‘sum’ of the variables. At the centre of the model, we have organisational ability to implement each of the requisite strategies. This puts emphasis on the ‘doing’ rather than the ‘talking’ and therefore, it might be better to have a strategy of limited quality which is well implemented as opposed to having an excellent one which is almost impossible to implement.